Global Tel Link Corp. is an inmate telephone service company operating prison phones at approximately 2300 facilities around the country. As per the company’s website, GTL accounts are used by 1.8 million inmates and their family members for speaking to each other.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Global Tel Link (GTL) in which plaintiffs claimed that GTL unlawfully retained funds under its Inactivity Policy from the accounts of its Advance Pay customers. This $67 million settlement is expected to benefit a nationwide class of individuals having a positive balance in their GTL account that was reduced to zero after 180 days of account inactivity between 3rd April 2011 and 6th October 2021.
Global Tel Link retained money following 180 days or six months of inactivity from the prepaid AdvancePay accounts. The company pocketed the cash for its benefit whereas it should have returned these funds to the consumers immediately. The plaintiff, in this case, is a practicing criminal defense lawyer who used GTL services for speaking with clients and other inmates. His account balance was reduced to zero after a period of inactivity in 2014. The plaintiff had no idea about the fact that his account would be forfeited after 90 days of inactivity.
Though GTL has not admitted to any wrongdoing, they have agreed to resolve this class action lawsuit with a $67 million settlement. GTL will reimburse its consumers 100% of any fund retained by the company from inactive accounts. The payments made to Class members will depend on the money they had in their inactive accounts. While both current and former customers are eligible for the benefits of this class action settlement, the refund method will vary depending on whether a Class Member holds an active account with GTL.
Non-monetary relief altering GTL’s inactivity policy is also included in the Global Tel Link AdvancePay class-action lawsuit settlement. The policy will extend from 90-to 180 days where active account consumers are eligible for a refund of their account balances and other changes which are inclusive of the new policy. Settlement payments will be credited automatically to the accounts of the current GTL customers. The last date for excluding yourself from or objecting to the terms of this settlement is 15th April 2022.
Eligibility for Making Claim: You will be deemed eligible for the benefits of this class action settlement if:
- You are a person residing in the US who established and paid into a prepaid account through the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system of GTL.
- You had a positive balance in your prepaid GTL account which was reduced to a zero-balance following 180 days of account inactivity between 3rd April 2011 and 6th October 2021.
Proof of Purchase: Global Tel Link prepaid advance pay funds class action settlement
Members will have to provide the telephone number or numbers which were used by them for receiving calls between 2011 and 2021 through their GTL AdvancePay account. The accounts which were initially set up and funded using the automated IVR telephone system are included within the purview of this class action settlement.
Potential Claim Amount:
- GTL will automatically credit the full amount it took from the account of Active AdvancePay customers under the Inactivity Policy. These customers will not have to submit any claim form to receive payments.
- Former AdvancePay customers will have to file a valid claim form to receive the complete money GTL took from their account under the Inactivity Policy. However, this amount shall be reduced on a pro-rata basis if the amount in the net settlement fund is insufficient for covering these refunds.
- GTL will credit the full amount it took from the account of former Advance Pay customers under Inactivity Policy who reactivated their account during the two years following the approval of the settlement. GTL will stop providing refunds if the amount in the net settlement fund is insufficient to cover these refunds within this two-year tenure.
Settlement Website: GTLPrepaidSettlement.com
Claim Form: Claim Form (gtlprepaidsettlement.com)
Deadline For Submitting Claim: 06/14/2022
Final Hearing Date: 08/26/2022
Settlement Pool: Up to $67,000,000
